Words richer than Gold

You are climbing 1200 steps chipped in the ice of a 30 degree mountain slope. You hold onto a rope strung along the way. You carry 70 pounds of supplies on your back. It’s -40 F. And once you reach the summit, and drop your supplies, you slide down the mountain to gather another 70 pounds of supplies and climb those stairs again, and again…ten more times. And when you have all your supplies at the top of the summit, you pack them on your back and travel another 500 miles by foot, and then by boat through river rapids between canyon walls 100 feet high.

You persevere. You persevere in hopes that you will strike it rich, strike gold, once you reach your destination.

This was the travels of the 30 to 40K stampeders who chose the Chilkoot Trail route at Dyea, Alaska on their way to the Klondike in northern Yukon, the winter of 1897-1898. As I researched the Klondike Gold Rush, the topic of my final writing assignment for my current writing course, I began to understand what hardships these stampeders endured for ‘riches’ that were not even guaranteed! Out of the 100,000 stampeders, only up to 40,000 actually made it to the Klondike, and only 4,000 found gold, and just a few hundred actually got rich.

And I began to ponder: How often have a sought for ‘riches’ in this life rather than persevered in seeking out His treasures that are a sure thing? When have I given up, or turned away when hardship has hit instead of continuing, knowing He never lets go of the rope no matter if I can’t see the next step in front of me?

My son, if you accept my wordsand store up my commands within you,turning your ear to wisdomand applying your heart to understanding—indeed, if you call out for insightand cry aloud for understanding,and if you look for it as for silverand search for it as for hidden treasure,then you will understand the fear of the Lordand find the knowledge of God.For the Lord gives wisdom;from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.He holds success in store for the upright,he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,for he guards the course of the justand protects the way of his faithful ones.

Did you know the word ‘silver’ shows up 402 times in the bible? In other words, there is an abundance of silver to be found in God’s word! He instructs us to seek His wisdom that leads to success, guards, shields, and protects us.

And thankfully, to find the knowledge of God, we don’t have to summit a mountain in -40 F! Instead, we can faithfully study His word for insight and understanding.

Where are you searching for wisdom?

But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. Timothy 6:11-12

This is powerful, Lynn. It’s so interesting what gold diggers did for even a fraction of a chance at finding treasure. I never realized so many lost their lives. And yes, how often have I sought after riches in this life instead of pursuing the treasures of God? Thank you for prompting me to reflect on this. As always, your photos are lovely. I especially love the one of Miles Canyon. 🙂 Blessings and hugs to you!

Miles Canyon is a beautiful place. I lived in Whitehorse, Yukon for four years, 20 years ago now, but still feels like it was just a few years ago. I hope to visit the place and have more pictures summer of 2019! Many of the prospectors quit and turned around and many did lose their lives, some from crashing their boats into those canyon walls! Thankfully our journey with God isn’t so perilous but always leads to life! Hugs back to you Trudy. I always look forward to reading your words and comments here!

This post hits the spot today. Sometimes I watch the news and try to figure out what’s going on in our world. But if we really want to make sense of things we need only to read the Bible, then everything becomes clear.

Beautiful post! It is a real challenge to think about the immense value of God’s wisdom and how much effort we should be putting into seeking it, when it can be tempting to become complacent or to give up.

Oh your photos and words are always so inspiring! When I think of how persistent those gold-searchers were, it brings a conviction to me! It seems I grow weary so easily, and complain to God that I don’t know how I can go forward. But I have HIS strength with me, nudging and helping me to pursue His path that He has set before me. Thank you for these precious Scriptures, reminding us to seek out the treasures of our Lord. Blessings to you!

Amen. Imagine if we went after the eternal Truth of God’s Word and the wisdom to be found there with that same fervor? More to the point, what if our pursuit of knowing the One who left the treasures of heaven to exchange His life for ours was approached with such passion, fortitude and perseverance? We will stand some day and look into His precious face, eye-to-eye. I pray, through His grace and strength alone, that my life is singularly focused on chasing after the only One that truly matters.

Perfect!! This is what I need right now and am determined to do. I’ve been looking in the wrong places and have not been asking God what would you have me to do and finding my riches through him. Thank you!

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Hello! It’s fantastic to meet you! My hope is to get to know you, encourage and inspire you as we journey through this world, doing our best to build His Kingdom until we are called home.

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